July 4, 2012, Sunrise — West Lake Okoboji, Iowa. (Click on image once or twice to enlarge.)
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(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)
Author Archive
Good Morning — July 4, 2012
July 4, 20121956: The Race (that was lost) Against Taxes
June 30, 2012In response to my last post, my oldest sister Clara commented, “I’m surprised Mother’s [1956] journal didn’t contain an entry for the reception Mother and Daddy hosted for Gov. Hoegh at our house in April or early May. Daddy was an advisor for Gov. Hoegh’s unsuccessful re-election campaign. Pam [Jordan] and I were allowed to wear hose and heels (generally reserved for eighth grade graduation) for the first time because we helped collect plates and glasses from people attending the reception.”
Clara’s comments prompted me to include in this post:
- a photo and two articles regarding my dad’s (Deane Gunderson) involvement with Iowa Governor Leo Hoegh’s campaign in 1956,
- more of my mom’s journal entries* from 1956, and
- a February 1981 audio clip of my dad describing some of his involvement in the Republican party.
In the articles, notice 1956’s 2 1/2 % sales tax in Iowa compared to today’s 6% (and in some Iowa areas 7%).
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1956. Publication: Unknown. (Click on image once or twice to enlarge.)
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The following are more of my mom’s 1956 journal entries:
1956. Publication: Unknown. (Click on image once or twice to enlarge.)
Apr. 9: Oleriches over in P.M. to pick names for Hoegh coffee.
Apr. 16: Ike vetoed Farm Bill.
April 18: Entertained at coffee for Governor Hoegh. Very successful. To Cattle Feeders banquet and to Webbs’ after.
Sept. 17: Hoegh talked to Deane with Proposition. Art Ass’n met here. (Deane later accepted job as campaign manager for Gov. Hoegh.)
Sept. 18: Deane to Des Moines for dinner and meeting with Hoegh.
Sept. 25: Deane to D.M. for Hoegh.
Oct. 9: Deane in Des Moines for $100 a plate dinner.
Oct. 12: [Marion and Deane] Still in D.M. Met Emily Haverkamp and she recorded for Radio for the Gov.
Oct. 4: Oleriches over in P.M. to discuss Governor’s being behind and the dissention with ___. [Since I don’t know if this is a local person or not, I am not including the name here.]
Oct. 17: John Christian Gunderson (Deane’s father) passed away at the age of 67, of Cerebral Thrombosis.
Oct. 19: Continued busy with friends, etc. Flowers (glads and bronze mums) from Gov. Hoegh.
Oct. 30: To Hoegh coffee at Bette Brinkman’s and Lois Hodoway helped.
Nov. 1: Gave program on Politics at Sorosis at Darlene Brinkman’s. To Olerichs’ in P.M. — They planning Garfield Twp. campaign tactics.
Nov. 2: I gave talks at “Coffees for Leo” at Hazel Streit and Maude Mather.
Nov. 4: Quite rainy Sunday. Deane out on Every Member Canvas.
Nov. 5: Gave talk at “Coffee for Leo” at Betty Kloster’s.
Nov. 6: Eisenhower – Nixon re-elected. Hoegh lost. Hickenlooper and Erbe won. Doliver lost. To Olerichs’ to watch returns with Percy VanAlstine, Bob Franken and Bill Shannon.
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*Other 1956 journal entries were included in the most recent post which also included images of Mother’s watercolors painted in 1956 and the Rolfe school’s 1956 yearbook.
BTW, tomorrow, July 1, 2012, marks two years since my dad passed away. Here’s to you, Daddy!
(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)
1956: Marion Gunderson’s Watercolors and Rolfe, Iowa, School Yearbook
June 22, 2012.
This photo was taken on my* first birthday, which was in 1956. We are in the basement of the new house that we started moving into on Jan. 23, 1956. Clockwise, starting at the left, is oldest-sister Clara, Mother, Peggy (partially obscured, sitting on the couch), Charles (helping to open my gift), me (partially obscured), Helen (in dark clothing), and Marti (back to camera). I assume my dad took this photo. With us six children under foot, I wonder how Mother EVER had time to paint! I imagine my dad being supportive was a very important factor. (Click on photo to enlarge.)
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In the gallery of thumbnail images in this post are images of nine watercolors by Mother (Marion Gunderson). Eight were definitely painted in 1956; I believe the ninth (Holy Family**) was, as well. In Mother’s 1956 journal***, there are twelve or thirteen dates for which she has entries indicating she painted on those dates.
Also in the gallery below are images of the 1956 yearbook of the Rolfe, Iowa, school district. Links to other Rolfe yearbooks are in the “Categories” column at this blog’s homepage. More yearbooks will be added periodically.
If you are wondering why it is a big deal to me to include Mother’s watercolors, a lot of it has to do with profits from prints of the watercolors being donated to the Rolfe Public Library. So far over $4,000 has been donated, much of it going to this project. If you have questions about the prints, you may contact me at mariongundersonart@gmail.com. You may also ask at the library or at Wild Faces Gallery (where the prints are made) in Rolfe. (BTW, for the library and for purchasers, everyone comes out better financially if prints are purchased in person — when possible — as opposed to online.)
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Making the Thumbnail Images Larger
1) To see the thumbnail images in slideshow view, click on one of the images. Then navigate forward or backward through the images.
2) To magnify the images even more, once in slideshow view, click on the “Permalink” or “View Full Size” hyperlink.
3) After clicking on the “Permalink” or “View Full Size” hyperlink, if you want to enlarge further, hover your mouse cursor over the image. As you move the cursor over the image, if you see a moving “+” sign, it means you can enlarge the image even further by clicking on it. (A “-” sign means you can’t enlarge it further.)
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- It appears that it is Miss Marcum’s handwriting in the upper left corner of this image.
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- Floral in Shades of Red
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- Philodendron and Fruit
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- Vibrant Floral
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- Three Horses ****
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- Girl in White (or Sculptured Head)
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- Bull (Prints have been made of another watercolor of a bull painted by Mother. That watercolor is titled “El Toro.”)
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- Lenox Birds Trio
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- Holy Family
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- Iowa Corn (Prints titled “Ear of Iowa Corn” have been made of another watercolor painted by Mother.)
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*Louise Gunderson Shimon (youngest daughter of Marion)
**Holy Family — see December 1 entry toward the bottom of this post.
****Prints are available.
*** Entries from Mother’s 1956 journal include:
Jan. 2: 1st meal in basement [of new house]
Jan 16: Louise started on Pablum.
Jan. 23: Started moving to new house.
Jan. 30: Clara’s first high heels — for school concert and then 8th grade graduation. Art Ass’n meeting at Lena Vaughn’s in afternoon.
Feb. 6: Johnson Bros. of Ruthven started moving old house.
Feb. 9: Rolfe band had thrill of a concert with Rafael Mendez, trumpeter. Clara wore formal for the first time.
Feb. 20: Deane sold 25 cattle.
Feb. 22: Deane to Sioux City with 19 cattle brought 19¢ a lb.
Mar. 1: Johnny Zeman started working for us.
Mar. 5: Painted with Art Ass’n at Maud Herrick’s. [Does anyone know how I might contact Maud — if still living — or Maud’s family? I believe Mother gave or sold a painting to Maud. If so, I’d like to try to track down an image of it.]
Mar. 6: Painted horse picture.
Mar. 20: Dial telephones installed.
Mar. 25: Louise baptized. She behaved perfectly.
Mar. 30: Oat seeding started.
May 18: Deane to W’loo [Waterloo] to get 70D J.D. tractor that he is to run on experimental basis.
June 18: I painted with art ass’n at Lena Vaughn’s. [In this link’s photo, Lena is “Lena Wiegman.”]
July 10: Oat combining started.
July 23: I painted Lenox bird picture this afternoon.
July 30: Painted with Art Ass’n at Agnes Neal’s.
Sept. 12: I painted picture of a Bull.
Sept. 24: John Young [2011 photo] took over Bill Brinkman’s Standard Service Station.
Sept. 27: Art Ass’n met here.
Sept. 21: I painted zinnia picture.
Oct. 18: Painted Sculptured Head with ass’n at Myrtle Sabo’s.
October 29: Painted with Art Ass’n at Bertha Van Alstine’s barn in Gilmore — did corn picture.
Nov. 10 and 11: John Deere pheasant hunters here and Evelyn Jirsa [wife of Emil Jirsa]. Poorest hunting yet.
Nov. 19: Sorosis [women’s book review/social club] at Lucerne’s [Hunter, I assume]. Marie [Hauck?] reviewed Virgil Hancher’s travel diary. [Virgil Hancher graduated in Rolfe’s class of 1914. Before July 2013 I’ll post the 1913 Rolfe yearbook which includes several photos of Virgil.]
Nov. 21: Report cards. _____ had F in deportment. [May or may not be a family member.]
**Dec. 1: Busy — worked on Christmas picture for living room. [I believe this is the Holy Family painting, where Mother also used a cutwork technique. I have one of her paintings of a young woman where she used a similar dark wash and the same cutwork technique to create the outlines. My painting is dated 1958.)
Dec. 10: Painted with Art. Ass’n at F. Beneke’s.
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Photo collection sources may be furnished upon request.
(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)
Wildflower Friend or Foe?!
June 7, 2012Last night in our yard I saw this worm on this wildflower. Tonight I wondered if it might still be there…and it was! Between last night and tonight, I took probably 100 photos of this worm/flower. Not until I looked at the photos on my monitor did I notice there was this one photo (just one out of all of them) where this worm’s head was visible, as opposed to buried in the flower. I kinda like this photo. (But, Bill says these worms bite.)
To distinguish the worm’s eyes, click on the photo at least once, and maybe twice.
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I know I’ve not posted a lot recently. However, I have been scanning some more Rolfe, Iowa, school yearbooks. I’ve also been gleaning interesting information from Rolfe’s newspaper archives. Once we hit July 12, 2012 (one year before the beginning of Rolfe’s sesquicentennial celebration), I’ll start posting more over the next twelve months about Rolfe and Rolfe’s history.
I’ll post before July 12, but wanted to give a heads-up on what I’ve been doing and what is upcoming.
(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)
Remembering Those Before Us
May 28, 2012UPDATE 1/31/2013: Scroll down a little to see a video taken at Clinton-Garfield Cemetery in Rolfe on Memorial Day, 2010. If at first the video seems jerky, walk away while it plays through the first time. Then, without exiting your browser, play the video again. It should play flawlessly the second time, if not the first.
I’m not in my hometown of Rolfe, Iowa, today for Rolfe’s Memorial Day services; this 2-minute video from Rolfe’s 2010 Memorial Day service* is my substitute. While the video is not of good quality, all of it helps me “be there” today. Even the sounds (from the adjacent land) of the cow(s) mooing makes me nostalgic regarding rural heritage combined with honoring those who have passed.
At the beginning of the video, the camera is pointed west. The location is Clinton-Garfield Cemetery.
From my elementary through high school years, I remember several Memorial Day services in Rolfe. My dad had a perforated eardrum and therefore was not allowed to serve in the military. So, I didn’t have a familial connection to the military, which probably added to my sometimes dragging my heels prior to attending services. But, I’m so glad my parents instilled in me the importance of attending the services. Doing so made me now have a greater appreciation for those who gave their lives for my freedoms, as well as those deceased who were not a part of the military but who, in other ways, contributed positively to the world in which we live today.
If you are a young parent, when possible I hope you’ll attend with your child(ren) a Memorial Day service. Help your child(ren) hear and understand “In Flanders Field” and the “Gettysburg Address.” Listen to “Taps” (also played in this post’s video).
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*Rolfe’s services take place in Clinton Garfield Cemetery. Information about Rolfe’s cemeteries, including who is buried where, is here.
Photos from the 2010 service are here.
(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)
1954: Marion Gunderson’s Watercolors and Rolfe, Iowa, School Yearbook
May 13, 2012In the gallery of thumbnail images in this post are images of 12 watercolors painted in 1954 by Mother (Marion Gunderson). In Mother’s 1954 journal, there are 23 dates for which she has entries indicating she painted on those dates.
Also in the gallery below are images of the 1954 yearbook of the Rolfe, Iowa, school district. Links to other Rolfe yearbooks are in the “Categories” column at this blog’s homepage. More yearbooks will be added periodically.
If you have photos and/or video that relate to Rolfe’s history (in general, or Main Street, agriculture, rural life, the schools, including D.M.T., etc.), and you’d like me to share them at this blog, feel free to contact me. My email address is mariongundersonart@gmail.com. Even snapshots like this photo below!
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SUMMER 1954 — SLUMBER PARTY TIME! L to R: Judy Wagner (Larson), Pam Jordan (Wolfe), Rachel Heald (Perry) and Clara Gunderson (Hoover). This photo was taken about a year before I (Louise) was born, and about two years before my family moved into a new house at almost the same exact location. The car is a 1953 Oldsmobile. These girls are included in the sixth-grade class photos on pages 18 and 19 of the 1954 Rolfe yearbook (below). (Click on image to enlarge.)
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Making the Thumbnail Images Larger
1) To see the thumbnail images in slideshow view, click on one of the images. Then navigate forward or backward through the images.
2) To magnify the images even more, once in slideshow view, click on the “Permalink” button.
3) After clicking on the “Permalink” button, if you want to enlarge further, hover your mouse cursor over the image. As you move the cursor over the image, if you see a moving “+” sign, it means you can enlarge the image even further by clicking on it. (A “-” sign means you can’t enlarge it further.)
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- Tulips (originally painted for Dr. E.O. Loxterkamp of Rolfe)
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- Pheasant and Butterflies (and Mother’s paints)
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- Hollyhocks*
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- Farmstead Outbuildings
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- Six Macho Men
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- Twisted Tree*
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- Red Hotel (perhaps Humboldt, Iowa)
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- Fighting Roosters
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- The Monk*
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- Angel in Wine and Blue*
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- Churchyard*
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- Zinnias*
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*An asterisk after any watercolor title indicates that prints are available of that particular watercolor. The profits from the prints go to the Rolfe Public Library where Mother worked for 35 years.
To learn more about availability of prints, you may contact me (Louise Shimon) at mariongundersonart@gmail.com. You may also look and order online at www.mariongundersonart.ecrater.com. However, the library and you would benefit more dollar-wise if you ordered directly through me or purchased via the Rolfe Public Library or Wild Faces Gallery in Rolfe. The largest selection/inventory is available through me.
(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)
The first person to walk on the moon…
May 12, 2012
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I know I haven’t posted for quite some time. I was in Texas for a while to hang out with Abby and Jackson, including celebrating Jackson’s sixth birthday. While there, Jackson told his mom, Aunt Katie and Uncle Joe, and Bill and me the name of the first person to walk on the moon: Marvel Brainstorm.
Close!
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(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)
2012 Corn Planting in Roosevelt Township, Pocahontas County, Iowa
April 29, 2012The explanations and photos in this post about tillage and corn planting aren’t all that advanced, but they got me thinking and learning.
On April 25, 26 and 27, 2012, I was in northwest Iowa to experience tillage and corn planting in Sections 13 and 24 of Roosevelt Township, Pocahontas County, Iowa. My dad was born in Section 24; I was raised in Section 13.
I had a blast spending part of the time with Roger Allen as he tilled, and part of the time with Dan Allen as he planted. They add color commentary to remedial (due to my having so much to learn) explanations about farming. My resident consultant does the same.
The photos aren’t crystal clear. But…most of them were taken through a tractor cab window and during a bumpy (but still, pretty smooth for a tractor) ride.
To see the photos in slideshow view, click on the first thumbnail image. The captions are somewhat sequential. Depending upon the size of your device/monitor, in slideshow view the captions might get truncated. If so, return to the thumbnail view to read the captions in their entirety.
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- If you look carefully, you can see the yellow tile surface intake under the raised planter. Whenever there is an intake like this in the field, the tractor reduces speed and the planter is raised to go over the intake.
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- The planter needed to be raised in order to go over, and not damage, this tile surface intake.
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- In the mirror: the planter. The farmstead: Gunderland.
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- These gauges monitor the vacuum to indicate that it is working correctly. The vacuum secures seed to a plate inside the seed metering mechanism which is inside the row unit. In the plate are equidistantly spaced holes in which seeds ride. When the planting unit stops the vacuum at the precise point where a seed is on the plate, the seed at that location falls off the plate and slides down a tube into the soil.
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- A view of Gunderland (just outside of Rolfe, Iowa, and where I was raised) from inside the tractor cab during corn planting.
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- Had the residue from last year remained, it would shade the soil making it less warm. Less residue = soil warming more quickly = better germination.
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- Also, because of the tillage the night before, the row unit (which includes the seed tube and is immediately behind the teeth-like row cleaners) then has a smooth area allowing for consistent depth placement of seeds. (This consistent depth is critical for optimum root and seed development.) Because the row cleaners make a clean area for planting, they help leave the soil dark (i.e. without residue).
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- The day after the ground was tilled, corn was planted in the same field. The planter is shown here in raised position. The wheels that are teeth-like are called row cleaners*. They move some residue (e.g., stubble from the previous year) and clods (that the field cultivator didn’t already reduce in size) out of the way. The row units (each including a seed tube) are immediately behind the row cleaners.
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- If you look closely, you’ll see three ridges — due to tiling — running perpendicular to soybean stubble from last year’s crop. This tiling took place in the fall of 2011.
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- Looking south in the same Section 13 field as the previous photos, the tractor/field cultivator are soon to appear on the horizon. Visible at left are corrugated edges of two grain bins. In the distance, near Palmer, Iowa, the red lights are located at the tops of windmills — 11 miles away.
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- Late at night the moisture made it so dirt started to pack on the field cultivator transport wheels (at center of this photo), making the wheels unevenly shaped. The residue in this photo is stubble from last year’s soybean crop.
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- The tilling leveled the ground (including breaking up clods of dirt), killed weeds, and mixed crop residue (i.e., soybean stubble from the previous year) into the dirt. Also, herbicides and fertilizer (that had been applied within a day or so prior to tillage) were incorporated into the soil.
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- Late at night (and into early morning) the field cultivator tilled this Section 13 ground in preparation for corn planting the following day. The camera is looking west from the lawn at Gunderland.
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Information about row cleaners is here and here.
(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)
Should prints be made of “Doll” watercolor?
April 15, 2012This Doll watercolor by Mother (Marion Gunderson) is on short-term loan to me. Before I return it to its owners* in two weeks, I need to determine if prints will be made.
Taking Pre-Orders
Since I don’t have a good read on how well prints will sell, and to help defray printing expenses, I’m taking pre-orders. In a pre-order situation, payments go directly to printing expenses. If no pre-orders, no prints will be made.
IF prints are made, for any purchases of Doll prints beyond the pre-orders, payments will go directly to the Rolfe Public Library [Trust] where Mother worked for 35 years. So far $4,100 has been given to the library as a result of the prints.
A larger image is at the bottom of this post.
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Deadline for pre-orders:
Sunday, April 22
Pricing** and Approximate Sizes:
Medium: 10″ W x 13.5″ H = $25
Grand: 16.5″ W x 22″ H = $50
Largest: ~18″ W x ~24″ H = $70
Contact Information for Pre-ordering and/or for Asking Questions:
Louise Gunderson Shimon
515-465-2746
mariongundersonart@gmail.com
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Clicking on the Doll image will enlarge it slightly.
*The owners are Bill and Jackie Hutchinson. Bill was the Rolfe school superintendent while I was in high school. My mom and dad had very high regard for Bill and Jackie.
**Shipping is additional. I oftentimes deliver.
Additional images/prints of watercolors by Mother may be seen at www.mariongundersonart.ecrater.com.
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(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)
St. Kitts — Part IX: Miscellaneous
April 13, 2012These photos finish up my reporting on Bill’s and my February trip to the Caribbean island of St. Kitts. If we had the opportunity to return, would we? Yes! The friendly residents of St. Kitts and the island provided entertainment, a variety of activities, beautiful sites, serenity, great food (including seafood) and a sense of safety.
To see the photos in slideshow view, click on one of the thumbnail photos.
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- Cemetery and Middle Island Anglican Church
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- The exterior paint of many homes was quite colorful. Junk cars were quite plentiful.
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- Carib beer is brewed on the island of St. Kitts. Its taste was similar to many of the more tame (i.e., less hoppy, etc.) beers brewed in the United States. The beer selection wherever we went seemed to be quite slim.
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- This was a common scene.
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- A sign on the northeast coast of the island
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- Although the St. Kitts Scenic Railway tourist train still runs along the east and north coasts, the track pictured here is no longer used.
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- Just goats!
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- This vendor was selling cut up coconuts at Black Rocks (hardened lava formations) on St. Kitts’ northeastern coast.
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- Black Rocks (hardened lava formations) on St. Kitts’ northeastern coast
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- An anole, I believe
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- An anole, I believe
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- We saw these throughout the island
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- An abandoned lime kiln
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- Lime kiln on the way to Caribelle Batik
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- Tour guide Edwin Burt supplied the rum punch for our picnic.
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- While on a tour of the rain forest and other island areas with Edwin Burt of Greg’s Safaris, we stopped for a picnic. Mr. Burt served a fine rum punch along with fresh island fruit and baked goods.
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- Our Greg’s Safari guide, Edwin Burt, educated us about St. Kitts’ sugarcane history. Here he is inside a sugar mill ruin. He said he cut this sugarcane about two weeks prior to our visit. Sugarcane is no longer a major crop on St. Kitts; it grows wildly on the island.
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- Near the end of our Greg’s Safari tour, we stopped at a sugar mill ruin. This photo is of the inside of that sugar mill. Notice the plants growing near the top.
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- The exterior of the sugar mill ruin shown in other photos in this post
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- This is the bell at St. Mary’s Anglican Church. Our guide told us not to ring it. He said the sound of the bell could signal to St. Kitts residents that someone had died.
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- A view from the inside of St. Mary’s Anglican Church. Notice the thickness of the wall.
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- The interior of St. Kitts’ St. Mary’s Anglican Church
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- This is St. Kitts’ St. Mary’s Anglican Church. The restrooms are in a separate location (at left in this photo).
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- This is the Plantation Great House at the Shadwell Estate. According to Edwin Burt, our guide with Greg’s Safaris, this is where the plantation owner used to live. When we were there, the house seemed in shambles.
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For “St. Kitts — Part I” click here.
For “St. Kitts — Part II: Vervet Monkeys” click here.
For “St. Kitts — Part III: Lobster” click here.
For “St. Kitts — Part IV: Caribelle Batik at Romney Manor” click here.
For “St. Kitts — Part V: Mr X’s Shiggidy Shack” click here.
For “St. Kitts — Part VI: Brimstone Hill Fortress” click here.
For “St. Kitts — Part VII: The Beach(es)” click here.
For “St. Kitts — Part VIII: Plant Life” click here.
(Click here to go to Louise Gunderson Shimon’s blog’s home page.)
Marion Gunderson Art (and the Farmer's Daughter) 
